What Better Things Should Mayor Bloomberg Have Spent $100 Million On? (PHOTOS)

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Huffington Post   |  David Weiner
First Posted: 11- 4-09 01:42 PM   |   Updated: 11- 4-09 03:37 PM

When all is said and done, Michael Bloomberg is expected to have spent over $100 million to get elected mayor of New York City for a third time. His opponent, Bill Thompson, spent less than $10 million. And still, the race came down to just a 5-point differential.

So while there must be those out there thinking that if Bloomberg only won by 5 points then he really did need to spend the equivalent of the GDP of Anguilla on his campaign, there are many others who wonder if in the end this was a good use of the multi-billionaire's money.

There's no denying that Bloomberg is one of the country's, if not the world's, greatest philanthropists. In fact, according to the New York Times Bloomberg is the greatest individual living donor in the United States, giving away $235 million in 2008 alone.

Two hundred and thirty million dollars. That's a lot of money. But so is $100 million.

After seeing how futilely that money seems to have been spent, how in the end the election was decided on merit and not money, it's hard not to imagine the possibilities of what one could do with that cash.

So we're putting out the call to readers, charities, organizations, schools -- everyone, asking for your ideas on how that money could have been better spent. Everything under the sun is acceptable, from from wells in Africa to sandwiches for every New Yorker to more cute pandas in zoos.

To take part, just hit the PARTICIPATE button below and add an image or video of what you think Bloomberg should have spent that money on. Please divide $100,000,000 by the cost of whatever it is to find out how many or how much he could have purchased or donated.

While you're at it, if you want to go ahead and click-through to some of the charities listed, they'd love to have your support. After all, it is the giving season!

Better Things Bloomberg Could Have Spent $100M On
 
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When all is said and done, Michael Bloomberg is expected to have spent over $100 million to get elected mayor of New York City for a third time. His opponent, Bill Thompson, spent less than $10 milli...
When all is said and done, Michael Bloomberg is expected to have spent over $100 million to get elected mayor of New York City for a third time. His opponent, Bill Thompson, spent less than $10 milli...
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Must be nice to have 100 million to buy voters.

He's like a one man lobbyist.

What power will do to people!

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:32 PM on 11/04/2009
- MANK I'm a Fan of MANK 23 fans permalink

HIS money

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:27 PM on 11/04/2009
- FirstShirt I'm a Fan of FirstShirt 65 fans permalink

Probably President Obama could have also saved the money he spent traveling over and over to Virginia and New Jersey.

How many hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted on those political jaunts. Not counting the trip for the Olympics. All costly to the taxpayers and all wasted.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:48 PM on 11/04/2009
- DIAGUY I'm a Fan of DIAGUY 8 fans permalink

That makes him 0 for 3 (at least)....­.where's that "gift" we keep hearing about?

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:08 PM on 11/04/2009
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Appparently it's only wastful spending when it's done by a Republican spending his own money but it's different for a Democrat using taxpayer dollars to campaign for state elections

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:29 PM on 11/04/2009
- sski74 I'm a Fan of sski74 34 fans permalink
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Because NO OTHER President campaigned for other elections.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:05 PM on 11/04/2009
- fuelie I'm a Fan of fuelie 9 fans permalink
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Well, at least he appears to have used his own money instead of accepting bribes from lobbyists. Nonetheless, too much money is squandered by politicians and lobbyists in their short-sighted views of the country and humanity as a whole.

That said, politicians of the future should be able to use a modest amount of money, relatively speaking, since they are already wealthier than most Americans, and run a 100% electronic campaign. President Obama laid the groundwork for future politicians to do so.

He should have spent most of the 100 million to help poor people of New York. They are the ones who deserve a chance to fulfill their dreams and become productive members of society, but they are ignored and pushed aside by state and local governments.

Why not use the money to create a scholarship fund for poor people living on the streets, on park benches, on subway grates, in tents, in cars or vans, and anywhere they can find.

Who knows, many of them might become a future US President, astronaut, engineer, inventor, statesman, architect, businessman, etc.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:30 PM on 11/04/2009
- chedet I'm a Fan of chedet 31 fans permalink
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If I were him I'd buy my own pandas....

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:19 PM on 11/04/2009

is being mayor of NYC really that good a job to have--------must be some dandy perks to get a payoff on that investment.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:08 PM on 11/04/2009
- art525 I'm a Fan of art525 2 fans permalink

It's incredibly distasteful that Bloomberg has been able to use his money to buy the mayorality. He has an imperial attitude. He bullied through an overrule of the term limits that New York voters had voted for twice. This on top of trying to bully through the west side stadium and the Olympics against the majority of New Yorkers wishes and he tried and continues to try to force the Frank Gehry monstrosity on a lowrise neighborhood in Brookyn. And now on top of that he tells us that it was the general anger about the economy that gave him such a small winning margin when we know what we're feeling.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:42 PM on 11/04/2009

Should give it to the 911 Rescue Worker fund for their health problems.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:31 PM on 11/04/2009
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why shouldn't Bloomberg spend his money the way he wants to? If he didn't give a dime to charity so what? It's his money.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:53 PM on 11/04/2009
- billsmile I'm a Fan of billsmile 8 fans permalink

Yeah, if we took the money out of politics maybe we'd have a government that served the people & a nation that didn't have to rely on charity.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:20 PM on 11/04/2009
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Bloomberg spent his money and the money of his contributors, them not spending these dollars doesn't put more money in the govt coffers. Indeed your thought that this reduction would decrease the need of charities has no merit. The whole point of this article is to complain that Bloomberg didn't give this money to charity.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:56 PM on 11/04/2009
- TXfemmom I'm a Fan of TXfemmom 197 fans permalink

Just think what the city of NY public schools, or hospitals, or homeless shelters or food pantries could have done with all that money?

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:35 PM on 11/04/2009
- FirstShirt I'm a Fan of FirstShirt 65 fans permalink

And with the money Obama spent to help reelect democrats in Virginia and New Jersey.

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:49 PM on 11/04/2009
- K2009 I'm a Fan of K2009 3 fans permalink
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235 million to charity in 2008? Leave him alone!!!

    Reply    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:17 PM on 11/04/2009

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